which, in the providence of God, must needs come, but which, having
continued through His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that
He gives to North and South this terrible war as the woe due to those
by whom the offense came, shall we discern therein any departure from
those divine attributes which the believers in a living God always
ascribe to Him?
Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of
war may soon pass away.
Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the
bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be
sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn by the lash shall be paid by
another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago,
so still it must be said, "The judgments of the Lord are true and
righteous altogether."
With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the
right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish
the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him
who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and for his orphan;
to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among
ourselves, and with all nations.
_Abraham Lincoln_
ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY
The following autobiography was written by Mr. Lincoln's own hand at
the request J. W. Fell, of Springfield, Illinois, December 20, 1859. In
the note which accompanied it the writer says: "Herewith is a little
sketch, as you requested. There is not much of it, for the reason, I
suppose, that there is not much of me."
I was born February 12, 1809, in Hardin County, Kentucky. My parents
were both born in Virginia, of undistinguished families--second
families, perhaps I should say. My mother, who died in my tenth
year, was of a family of the name of Hanks, some of whom now reside
in Adams County, and others in Mason County, Illinois. My paternal
grand-father, Abraham Lincoln, emigrated from Rockingham County,
Virginia, to Kentucky, about 1781 or 1782, where, a year or two later,
he was killed by Indians, not in battle, but by stealth, when he
was laboring to open a farm in the forest. His ancestors, who were
Quakers, went to Virginia from Berks County, Pennsylvania. An effort
to identify them with the New England family of the same name ended
in nothing more definite than a similarity of Christian names in both
families, such as Enoch, Levi, Mordecai, Solomon, Abraham, and the
like.
My father, at the death of his father, was but six years of age, and
grew up literally without any education. He removed from Kentucky to
what is now Spencer County, Indiana, in my eighth year. We reached
our new home about the time the state came into the Union. It was
a wild region, with many bears and other wild animals still in the
woods. There I grew up. There were some schools, so called, but no
qualification was ever required of a teacher beyond readin', writin'
and cipherin' to the rule of three. If a straggler, supposed to
understand Latin, happened to sojourn in the neighborhood, he was
looked upon as a wizard. There was absolutely nothing to excite
ambition for education. Of course, when I came of age I did not know
much. Still, somehow, I could read, write, and cipher to the rule of
three, but that was all. I have not been to school since. The little
advance I now have upon this store of education I have picked up from
time to time under the pressure of necessity.
I was raised to farm work, at which I continued till I was twenty-two.
At twenty-one I came to Illinois, and passed the first year in Macon
County. Then I got to New Salem, at that time in Sangamon, now Menard
County, where I remained a year as a sort of clerk in a store. Then
came the Black Hawk War, and I was elected a captain of volunteers--a
success which gave me more pleasure than any I have had since. I went
into the campaign, was elected, ran for the Legislature the same year
(1832), and was beaten--the only time I have ever been beaten by
the people. The next and three succeeding biennial elections I was
elected to the Legislature. I was not a candidate afterward. During
the legislative period I had studied law, and removed to Springfield,
to practice it. In 1846 I was elected to the Lower House of Congress.
Was not a candidate for reelection. From 1849 to 1854, both inclusive,
practiced law more assiduously than ever before. Always a Whig in
politics, and generally on the Whig electoral ticket, making active
canvasses. I was losing interest in politics when the repeal of the
Missouri Compromise aroused me again. What I have done since then is
pretty well known.
If any personal description of me is thought desirable, it may be said
I am in height six feet four inches, nearly; lean in flesh, weighing,
on an average, one hundred and eighty pounds; dark complexion, with
coarse black hair and gray eyes--no other marks or brands recollected.
THE BIXBY LETTER
Executive Mansion, Washington, November 21, 1864
Dear Madam:
I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of
the Adjutant-General of Massachusetts, that you are the mother of
five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle. I feel how
weak and fruitless must be any words of mine which should attempt to
beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot
refrain from tendering to you the consolation that may be found in
the thanks of the Republic they have died to save. I pray that our
Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave
you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn
pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the
altar of freedom.
Yours, very sincerely and respectfully
Abraham Lincoln
To Mrs. Bixby
Boston, Massachusetts
SAYINGS FROM LINCOLN'S SPEECHES
Let us have faith that right makes might; and in that faith let us, to
the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it.
I intend no modification of my oft-expressed wish that all men
everywhere should be free.
A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government
cannot endure permanently half slave and half free.
I take the official oath today with no mental reservation and with no
purpose to construe the constitution by any hypercritical rules.
You can have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the government;
while I shall have the most solemn one to "preserve, protect and
defend" it.
The mystic chords of memory stretching from every battle-field and
patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this
broad land, will yet swell the chorus of Union, when again touched, as
surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.
In giving freedom to the slaves we assure freedom to the
free--honorable alike in what we give and what we preserve.
Do not swap horses in the middle of the stream.
You can fool part of the people all of the time, and all of the people
part of the time; but you cannot fool all of the people all of the
time.
I do not think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was
yesterday.
The leading rule for the man of every calling is diligence; never put
off until tomorrow what you can do today.
I never let an idea escape, but write it on a piece of paper and put
it in a drawer. In this way I sometimes save my best thoughts on a
subject.
Wealth is a superfluity of what we do not need.
Come what will, I will keep faith with friend and foe.
Faith in God is indispensable to successful statesmanship.
God bless my mother; all I am or hope to be I owe to her.
I will study and get ready and maybe my chance will come.
Be sure you put your feet in the right place and then stand firm.
And having thus chosen our course, without guile and with pure
purpose, let us renew our trust in God, and go forward without fear
and with manly hearts.
Nothing valuable can be lost by taking time.
It is all in that one word--thorough.
Let us strive on to finish the work we are in.
When you can't remove an obstacle plow around it.
The way for a young man to rise is to improve every way he can, never
suspecting that anybody wishes to hinder him.
To add brightness to the sun or glory to the name of Washington is
alike impossible. Let none attempt it. In solemn awe pronounce the
name and in its naked deathless splendor leave it shining on.
O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!
O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done;
The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won;
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring.
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.
O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up--for you the flag is flung--for you the bugle trills;
For you bouquets and ribbon'd wreaths--for you the shores a-crowding;
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning.
Here, Captain! dear father!
This arm beneath your head!
It is some dream that on the deck,
You've fallen cold and dead.
My Captain does not answer; his lips are pale and still;
My father does not feel my arm; he has no pulse nor will.
The ship is anchor'd safe and sound, its voyage closed and done;
From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won.
Exult, O shores, and ring, O bells!
But I with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.
_Walt Whitman_
THE UNFINISHED WORK
The crowd was gone, and to the side
Of Borglum's Lincoln, deep in awe,
I crept. It seemed a mighty tide
Within those aching eyes I saw.
"Great heart," I said, "why grieve alway?
The battle's ended, and the shout
Shall ring forever and a day--
Why sorrow yet, or darkly doubt?"
"Freedom," I plead, "so nobly won
For all mankind, and equal right,
Shall with the ages travel on
Till time shall cease, and day be night."
No answer--then; but up the slope
With broken gait, and hands in clench,
A toiler came, bereft of hope,
And sank beside him on the bench.
_Joseph Fulford Folsom_
ACROSTIC
(Written by a fifth grade child)
L is for Lincoln, brave and true
I is for the Iron nerve which helped him through
N is for Nation whose tongue sings his praise
C is for Colors on his birthday we raise
O is for Oration or speech he gave
L is for Liberty given the slave
N is his Name which ever we'll save
[Illustration: Statue of Lincoln by Gutzon Borglum
In front of Court House, Newark]
THE BOY THAT HUNGERED FOR KNOWLEDGE
In his eagerness to acquire knowledge, young Lincoln had borrowed
of Mr. Crawford, a neighboring farmer, a copy of Weems' Life of
Washington--the only one known to be in existence in that section of
the country. Before he had finished reading the book, it had been
left, by a not unnatural oversight, in a window. Meantime, a rain
storm came on, and the book was so thoroughly wet as to make it nearly
worthless. This mishap caused him much pain; but he went, in all
honesty, to Mr. Crawford with the ruined book, explained the calamity
that had happened through his neglect, and offered, not having
sufficient money, to "work out" the value of the book.
"Well, Abe," said Mr. Crawford, after due deliberation, "as it's you,
I won't be hard on you. Just come over and pull fodder for me for two
days, and we will call our accounts even."
The offer was readily accepted, and the engagement literally
fulfilled. As a boy, no less than since, Abraham Lincoln had an
honorable conscientiousness, integrity, industry, and an ardent love
of knowledge.
ABE LINCOLN'S HONESTY
Lincoln could not rest for an instant under the consciousness that
he had, even unwittingly, defrauded anybody. On one occasion, while
clerking in Offutt's store, at New Salem, Illinois, he sold a woman
a little bill of goods, amounting in value by the reckoning, to two
dollars six and a quarter cents. He received the money, and the
woman went away. On adding the items of the bill again, to make sure
of its correctness, he found that, he had taken six and a quarter
cents too much. It was night and closing and locking the store, he
started out on foot, a distance of two or three miles, for the house
of his defrauded customer, and, delivering over to her the sum whose
possession had so much troubled him, went home satisfied.
On another occasion, just as he was closing the store for the night,
a woman entered, and asked for a half pound of tea. The tea was
weighed out and paid for, and the store was left for the night. The
next morning, Lincoln entered to begin the duties of the day, when
he discovered a four-ounce weight on the scales. He saw at once
that he had made a mistake, and, shutting the store, he took a long
walk before breakfast to deliver the remainder of the tea. These
are very humble incidents, but they illustrate the man's perfect
conscientiousness--his sensitive honesty--better perhaps than they
would if they were of greater moment.
YOUNG LINCOLN'S KINDNESS OF HEART
An instance of young Lincoln's practical humanity at an early period
of his life is recorded, as follows:
One evening, while returning from a "raising" in his wide
neighborhood, with a number of companions, he discovered a straying
horse, with saddle and bridle upon him. The horse was recognized as
belonging to a man who was accustomed to excess in drink, and it was
suspected at once that the owner was not far off. A short search only
was necessary to confirm the suspicions of the young men.
The poor drunkard was found in a perfectly helpless condition, upon
the chilly ground. Abraham's companions urged the cowardly policy
of leaving him to his fate, but young Lincoln would not hear to the
proposition. At his request, the miserable sot was lifted to his
shoulders, and he actually carried him eighty rods to the nearest
house. Sending word to his father that he should not be back that
night, with the reason for his absence, he attended and nursed the man
until the morning, and had the pleasure of believing that he had saved
his life.
A BIT OF HUMOR FROM THE BUSY LIFE OF LINCOLN
Two persons who had been arguing with each other how long a man's legs
should be in proportion to his body, stepped into Lincoln's office and
asked him to settle the dispute.
To them he replied: "After much thought and consideration, not to
mention mental worry and anxiety, it is my opinion, all side issues
being swept aside, that a man's lower limbs, in order to preserve
harmony of proportion, should be at least long enough to reach from
his body to the ground."
HOW LINCOLN AND JUDGE B. ... SWAPPED HORSES
When Abraham Lincoln was a lawyer in Illinois, he and a certain judge
once got to bantering each other about trading horses, and it was
agreed that the next morning at nine o'clock they should make a trade,
the horses to be unseen up to that hour, and no backing out, under a
forfeiture of $25.
At the hour appointed the Judge came up, leading the sorriest-looking
specimen of a horse ever seen in those parts. In a few minutes
Mr. Lincoln was seen approaching with a wooden sawhorse upon his
shoulders. Great were the shouts and the laughter of the crowd, and
both were greatly increased when Mr. Lincoln, on surveying the Judge's
animal, set down his sawhorse, and exclaimed: "Well, Judge, this is
the first time I ever got the worst of it in a horse trade."
The following paragraphs are quoted from a small pamphlet of Mr. Judd
Stewart of Plainfield, New Jersey, entitled "Suggestions for a Text
Book for Students of English." Mr. Stewart is a profound student of
Lincoln, and without doubt has the largest private collection of
Lincolnia in the United States.
It was recently suggested to me by a lieutenant in the navy, a
graduate of Annapolis, that in teaching English the writings and
speeches of Lincoln would be a very proper text-book. This appeals to
me most forcefully because all school children know who Lincoln was,
know something of his Gettysburg Address, know him as the Emancipator
of the Slaves and probably a majority of them admire him. Therefore,
it seems to me that a text-book based upon, or rather made up from
Lincoln's speeches and letters would be of great interest to the
majority of children, and by having such a text-book they would learn
history and good expressive English at the same time and in a most
interesting way.
The suggested text-book would consist of: The House Divided Against
Itself Speech, in 1858; The First Debate with Douglas Speech in 1858;
The Cooper Institute Speech, 1860; The First Inaugural, 1861; The
First Message to Congress, 1861; The Emancipation Proclamation, 1863;
The Gettysburg Address, 1863; The Letter to Mrs. Bixby, 1864; The
Second Inaugural, 1865.
Lincoln spent 49 years of his life in preparation, six years in the
accomplishment of his work. The study of his life is commended and
commends itself to all thinking people.
Why should we not teach his thoughts, his modes of speech, his
simplicity of expression to those who with their children and
descendants for ages will remember Abraham Lincoln, the Emancipator,
the Martyr, the Greatest American?
Attention should be given to the great statue of Lincoln before the
Court House in Newark, New Jersey. It presents our most admired
statesman seated on a bench absorbed in thought. The statue is a
wonderful work of art. From every angle it is unique, beautiful, and a
masterpiece. At all times of day passersby may see the children of the
city sitting in his arm, lovingly admiring the fatherly face. On his
knees and on the bench they gather, children of all races, rejoicing in
the freedom which he gave to mankind.
The statue was conceived and made by the Sculptor Gutzon Borglum, for
Amos H. VanHorn, the donor. It was presented to the Lincoln Post on
May 30, 1911, by Chancellor Mahlon Pitney. Colonel Theodore Roosevelt
received it in behalf of the Post, and Mayor Husaling made the speech
of acceptance.
Pass on, thou that hast overcome. Your sorrows, O people, are his
peace. Your bells and bands and muffled drums sound triumph in his
ear. Wail and weep here; God made it echo joy and triumph there. Pass
on.
Four years ago, O Illinois, we took from your midst an untried man,
and from amongst the people. We return him to you a mighty conqueror.
Not thine any more, but the Nation's; not ours, but the world's. Give
him place, O ye prairies. In the midst of this great continent his
dust shall rest, a sacred treasure to myriads who shall pilgrim to
that shrine to kindle anew their zeal and patriotism. Ye winds that
move over the mighty places of the West, chant his requiem. Ye people,
behold a martyr whose blood as so many articulate words, pleads for
fidelity, for law, for liberty.
_Henry Ward Beecher_
BIBLIOGRAPHY
See Bibliography at end of monograph.
WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY
February 22
It was almost unconsciously that men learned to cling to Washington
with a trust and faith such as few other men have won, and to regard
him with a reverence which still hushes us in presence of his memory.
_Green_
WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY
HENRY W. FOSTER, SUPERVISING PRINCIPAL, SOUTH ORANGE
February is the greatest month for the teaching of patriotism. The
national heroes, Washington and Lincoln, whose birthdays we celebrate,
give distinction to two of its days. The time falls happily in midyear,
when pupils and teachers alike need inspiration for a new period of
sustained effort requiring determination and vigor.
It has been shown very clearly that through its schools a nation can be
trained in ideals which will govern national life and conduct. Neither
Washington nor Lincoln, however, owed his heroic quality to schools;
but they did owe it to the very same ideals for which our schools
stand. Indeed, their greatest service to mankind is the fact that they
incarnated those ideals.
It is not so easy to venerate abstract principles and to submit one's
life to them as it is to imitate great personalities whose deeds have
embodied those principles.
Because we love our national heroes and venerate them personally,
they still live and work through us. The principles of democracy are
established eternally in their deeds and in ours.
The child who writes an appreciation of Washington, or recites from his
addresses, or renders a poem commemorating him, or dramatizes something
from his life, enters into his spirit, and in the child Washington
lives again.
The Declaration of Independence asserts the lofty principle of equality
in liberty. All men are created free, and equal in the right to life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It is a declaration of rights,
not of duties. Each person has a right to _his_ life, _his_ liberty,
the pursuit of _his_ happiness. The deeds of Washington embodied not
only these principles, but emphasized the duty of service. In our
time our country has fully justified a new statement of political
faith, which Washington lived. All men are born equal in the right to
opportunity--each to make the best of himself--so that he may render
the best service.
Think not of the reward! On the whole, service is requited according
to its worth. Too many want to do what they can't do, and won't do
what they can do! It may be pride, or it may be looking for an
undeserved reward. The school should train for service, and teach
self-respect in doing the best that one can in the thing for which
he is best fitted. Washington sought no reward; but he commands the
undying veneration, not only of his countrymen, but of all mankind.
Speaking of the retirement of Washington, at a time when party spirit
against the policy of the great founder and preserver of the Republic
was calculated to arouse bitterness in a less noble man, Knight, in
his "History of England," says: "Had his nature been different, had
his ambition been less under the control of his virtue, he might have
taken up his sword and, sweeping away his enemy, have raised himself to
supreme power upon the ruins of his country's liberty. He retired to
his estate at Mount Vernon to pass the rest of his days as a private
citizen.... Washington's scheme of glory was realized. He had been
a ruler of free men, ruling by the power of law. He laid down his
authority when he had done the work to which he was called, most happy
in this, that ambitions of a selfish order could never be justified by
his example."
Washington's point of view as a ruler of men was unique at that period
in the world's history.
We need to teach from the life of Washington that same respect for
English ideals of government which he maintained and defended, even by
revolting against the English king. Too many of our people have grown
up in hatred of England, through the story of the Revolution and the
War of 1812, and the unfortunate attitude of aristocratic England in
our Civil War.
How does England, the heart and brain of England, regard us? If we know
that she sympathizes with our ideals and her heart has been with us
all the time, shall we not feel safe with her, and find in Englishmen
brothers with whom we may work for the good of the world?
English historians have an appreciation of Washington which we cannot
surpass. Writing English history for the instruction of English boys
and girls, and men and women, they justify our Revolution and laud our
national hero as a world hero. No American orator has ever magnified
Washington in more laudatory terms than are to be found in Green's
"History of England." Green says: "Washington more than any of his
fellow colonists represented the clinging of the Virginia land owner to
the Mother Country, and his acceptance of the command proved that even
the most moderate of them had no hope now save in arms."
[Illustration: Stuart's Washington
Copyright by Underwood & Underwood, N. Y.]
For the future we shall need a better understanding of our English
brothers. This cannot better be attained than by knowing well that our
ideals are held in the same regard by them as by ourselves.